Method and apparatus for controlling site-specific operations

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for controlling a site-specific activity at a plurality of remote locations, for example, the inspection of geographically remote equipment or the gathering of data for a census. A mobile operator transports a portable tool ( 14 ) to a plurality of locations where a site-specific activity is to be conducted. The portable tool includes a location detection device ( 32 ). Processing of data using the portable tool is enabled only when the portable tool is located proximate a designated site, as determined by the location detection device. In various embodiments, the enabled site-specific activity may include data recordation, data transmission, data reception, data processing, and/or the display of a data entry form.

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.11/136,770 filed on 25 May 2005, which in turn is a continuation-in-partof U.S. application Ser. No. 10/901,746 filed on 28 Jul. 2004, which inturn claims benefit of the 29 Jul. 2003 filing date of U.S. provisionalApplication No. 60/490,861, all of which are incorporated by referenceherein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to controlling site-specificactivities related to remotely located assets.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There are many applications requiring the processing of data regardinggeographically dispersed assets. For example, railroad system assetsmust be inspected periodically, and the resulting inspection data mustbe reported in accordance with Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)guidelines. Inspectors travel to the various track, wayside, gradecrossing and signaling component locations to perform inspections and torecord the resulting inspection data. In another example, census takersmust travel to a plurality of residences to gather data related topersons living at the respective locations. Traditionally, inspectionforms used to record such data had been hard copy paper forms. Systemscurrently being developed are able to record data in electronic formatusing a portable electronic tool. These systems improve the accuracy ofthe data recordation process by permitting data entry via pull-downmenus, button selection for simple yes/no answers, automatic data rangechecking, etc. However, there is still an opportunity for erroneous dataentry resulting from mistaken asset identification, and there is thepossibility of fictitious data entry by an unscrupulous operator.

European Patent Application EP 1 081 659 A1 describes a method forinspecting objects located at spread locations wherein each of theobjects is provided with a transponder. An interrogation devicetransported by an inspector activates a transponder when theinterrogation device is located a short distance from the transponder.In this manner, some assurance is provided that the inspector hasactually traveled to the location of the object to perform aninspection.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of an equipment inspection datarecording system.

FIG. 2 illustrates steps in a process for enabling data recordation onlywhen a portable data recording device is at a selected equipmentlocation.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example data input display of a portableinspection data recording device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 illustrates a data processing system 10 that may be utilized whenconducting inspections of railroad system assets as required by theFederal Railroad Administration, or when performing other site-specificoperations related to assets that are distributed among a plurality ofremote sites to which a mobile operator must travel to perform thesite-specific operation. The term asset is used herein in a broad senseto include equipment, structures, locations, persons, etc. The termsinspection and inspecting are used herein in a broad sense to includeactions related to physical inspection by visual, mechanical,electrical, chemical or other means; testing; maintenance; calibration;replacement; repair; or other such activities as may be necessary forremotely distributed assets. The term site-specific operation is usedherein in a broad sense to include any activity that is required to beperformed at a particular site. Such activities may include, but are notlimited to: inspecting; maintaining; repairing; controlling;interviewing; data processing or data handling, including data entry,data recordation, data sorting, data accessing, data recall, datatransmittal, data reception, data manipulation, data correlation orassociation, display of data or information derived from data, etc.; aswell as other activities performed or enabled by a person and/or amachine.

For an embodiment of the present invention utilized with railroadsystems, the asset 12 may include any track, wayside, structure orequipment associated with the railroad activities, such as signalingequipment, grade crossing equipment, rolling stock, bridges, rail,tunnels, etc. Equipment 12 located at a particular wayside location mayinclude a plurality of individual units of equipment associated with anequipment bungalow wherein power, control, and/or communicationfunctions are cooperatively linked.

Assets at each location may be associated with a unique asset identifierso that no two locations have the same identifier. The followingdiscussion will describe an embodiment utilized with railroad equipmentfor which the unique asset identifier may be referred to as a uniqueequipment identifier. For grade crossing warning equipment in the UnitedStates, the unique equipment identifier may be the number assigned bythe United States Department of Transportation (DOT). Alternatively, theunique equipment identifier may be the railroad's milepost number, abungalow number, or a derivative thereof. The unique equipmentidentifier may be any character set that uniquely identifies aparticular location where equipment to be inspected is situated.Individual units of equipment located at a single location may befurther associated with the respective unique equipment identifier, suchas with a sub-numbering system.

Equipment inspection data processing system 10 includes a portablerecording device such as inspection data recording device 14 that istransported by the mobile inspector to the various equipment sites. Thesystem 10 may also include a centralized data management portion 16 forthe collection of inspection data from a plurality of similar portableinspection data recording devices 14 and for the analysis of theinspection data. The data management portion 16 may be used for thedistribution of the analysis results and related information, forexample via a connection to a global information system such as theWorld Wide Web 18.

The portable inspection data recording device 14 may be built upon anyavailable portable electronic tool, variously configured and describedas a personal information manager (PIM), pocket personal computer (PC),personal data assistant (PDA), personal mobile tool (PMT), etc. Theportable inspection data recording device 14 includes a processor 20having various input and output connections, as described more fullybelow.

A memory 22 is accessible by the processor 20. The memory may be a localportable memory that is transported as part of the portable inspectiondata recording device 14 and/or a remote memory accessible to theprocessor 20 via a communications link (not shown). Among other data,the memory 22 may contain a database associating a plurality of uniqueequipment identifiers with a respective plurality of physical locationsfor a universe of equipment 12 to be inspected by the mobile inspectorutilizing the portable inspection data recording device 14. Thisassociation may be accomplished via one or more look-up tables, forexample.

An operator-actuated input device such as keyboard 24 may be used toallow the inspector to input data to the processor 20 and memory 22. Inaddition to a keyboard, other forms of operator-actuated input devicesmay be used, including but not limited to a joy-stick, roller ball,voice-activated control, etc.

The portable inspection data recording device 14 may also includevarious input devices designed to receive data directly or indirectlyfrom the equipment 12. Examples of such devices include a barcode reader26, a USB connection 28, and a sensor 30 such as a voltage meter,current meter, ohmmeter, timer, RF tag reader, etc.

The location of the portable inspection data recording device 14 isdetermined by a location detector 32 such as a global positioning system(GPS) receiver transported with the portable inspection data recordingdevice 14. The location detector 32 provides a location signal 34responsive to the current location of the portable inspection datarecording device 14. Temporal information may also be provided via a GPSreceiver, or alternatively, a separate clock 36 may provide a timesignal 38 to processor 20. One skilled in the art will appreciate thatother types of position detection technology may be used to determine acurrent position of the data recording device 14. For example, cellulartelephones will soon be equipped with triangulation capability that willpermit location determining capability and communication capability tobe integrated into a single device. Furthermore, the location detectorutilized in certain embodiments of the present invention may includeprocessing capability located remote from the portable computing deviceitself, such as a centrally located monitoring system capable ofdetecting and locating the device 14 in space and/or in relation to adesignated site and then transmitting such position information to theportable device 14.

A display 40 may function as an output device for displaying a graphicaldisplay to the inspector, and/or it may be used as an input device, suchas when embodied as a touch-screen display or when used in conjunctionwith the operator-actuated input device in a point-and-click mode. Datamay be communicated through a transceiver 42 via a communication channel44 to and/or from a centralized database 46 that forms part of thecentralized data management portion 16. The communication channel 44 mayinclude wireless cellular or wired telephone communications, satellitecommunications, Internet connections including a Wi-Fi wirelessconnection, and transporting the portable data recording device back toa computer for communicating the data via a wired or wireless connectionto the computer. Centralized database 46 may be populated with currentinspection data for equipment 12 at periodic intervals determined by theinspector by selectively establishing communication link 44 via asuitable transmitter such as transceiver 42. Data contained incentralized database 46 may be manipulated to produce various types ofreports, such as reports in compliance with Federal RailroadAdministration requirements. One may appreciate that various memoriesand databases associated with system 10 may be resident on the portableinspection data recording device 14 or may be located off-board theportable inspection data recording device 14 and accessible via thecommunications channel 44.

Equipment inspection data processing system 10 enables inspection datarecording processes that provide improved data integrity when comparedto processes achievable with prior art systems, as described more fullybelow.

The location of equipment 12 to be inspected may be mapped and anidentifier may be assigned that is unique to the location of theequipment. For example, the latitude and longitude (or other uniqueequipment identifier) of a railroad crossing may be measured andrecorded in a database such as memory 22 and/or central database 46 andthen associated with the equipment located at that crossing. Detailsregarding the equipment may further be associated with the uniqueequipment identifier, such as the model number of hardware and/or therevision number of software at each mapped location. The location andequipment information may be displayed in a variety of formats, such asby being superimposed on a map on an Internet web page with hyperlinksprovided at points on the map where equipment is located. The hyperlinksmay provide additional details regarding the equipment at the particularlocation of the hyperlink.

One may appreciate that the systems and methods described herein do notrequire the existence of any special equipment at the asset location,such as a site-specific transponder as is known in prior art systems andmethods. Thus, the present invention avoids the cost and time associatedwith the installation and maintenance of such special equipment.Furthermore, the systems and methods described herein do not necessarilyrequire any special physical marking of the asset, such as bar coding,although such physical marking may be used advantageously in certainembodiments as described herein.

The inventory mapping process may be accomplished over a period of timeas inspectors visit the various equipment sites for routine inspections.When the inspector arrives at a particular site, the GPS receiver 32portion of portable inspection data recording device 14 is used toidentify the geographic location of the site. An inventory of theequipment at that site may then be accomplished, with the respectiveequipment inventory being associated with the geographic location inmemory 22 and/or in central database 46 via data through communicationlink 44. The memory/database may be updated over time to reflect serviceperformed to the equipment or any change, addition or modification tothe equipment. The database/memory may be accessed by softwareconfigured to allow searching in a variety of modes, such as byequipment type, by location, by time since last service date, etc. Datamay be presented in any format, including as a web page, whereinhyperlinks are provided to additional levels of detail regarding theequipment.

Memory 22 and/or database 46 may also contain an association between theunique equipment identifier for respective locations and individual onesof a plurality of data recordation forms appropriate for the specificequipment 12 at the respective location. In one embodiment, the formsmay be configured to comply with FRA reporting requirements.

To begin an inspection activity, the route of a mobile inspector may beplanned by using the equipment location information complied in theinventory-mapping step described above. Memory 22 is programmed withcurrent information relating the unique equipment identifier verseslocation information, and with current information relating appropriatedata recordation forms verses unique equipment identifier, as describedabove. The inspector then transports the portable inspection datarecording device 14 to the location of equipment 12 selected forinspection. The identification of the inspector may be made known to theprocessor 22 by incorporating logic requiring a password, a securedigital identification card, etc., and operation of the device 14 may belimited to one or more predetermined inspectors. Logic executable by theprocessor 20 may be programmed into the portable inspection datarecording device 14 to provide travel directions to the inspector viadisplay 40 in order to assist the inspector in arriving at the selectedequipment location. Such logic may be responsive to the unique equipmentidentifier for the selected equipment 12 inputted by the inspector, suchas via keyboard 24, and to the position signal 34. The selecteddestination location associated with the inputted unique equipmentidentifier in memory 22 is compared to the actual location of the device14 as indicated by location signal 34 to determine appropriate traveldirections for display.

Upon arrival at the selected equipment site, the inspector confirmshis/her plans for inspection by inputting the unique equipmentidentifier for the selected equipment. This step may have already beenaccomplished in order to obtain the travel directions described above,or it may be accomplished upon arrival at the selected site. If theinspector's route was planned geographically without prior knowledge ofthe unique equipment identifier associated with a particular location,the inspector may execute logic via processor 20 to index memory 22 withthe actual location as indicated by location signal 34 to determine thecorresponding unique equipment identifier for that location.Alternatively, the inspector may input the selected unique equipmentidentifier by using keyboard 24, or by scanning a bar code located onthe equipment using barcode reader 26, for example.

The portable inspection data recording device 14 may be programmed toallow the recordation and/or transmittal of inspection data only whenthe device 14 is actually at the location of equipment selected to beinspected. This ensures that the inspector has arrived at the correctlocation for performing the intended inspection, and it provides anadditional level of protection against erroneous data recordation. Thisalso precludes the recordation of fictitious data by a person locatedaway from the actual equipment location. To provide further assurance ofdata integrity and to provide information useful for work efficiencyevaluations, the system may automatically record temporal informationrelated to the arrival and dwell of the data recording device 14 at theparticular equipment location and/or at other locations to track themovement of the portable device 14. Both the location and temporalinformation may be derived from the global positioning system 32.

In one embodiment, data recording device 14 is provided with logicexecutable by the processor for indexing memory 22 with the uniqueequipment identifier that has been inputted by the inspector to identifythe associated location of the equipment selected for inspection. FIG. 2illustrates steps in a process 50 for enabling data recordation onlywhen a portable data recording device is at a selected equipmentlocation. The unique equipment identifier for equipment selected forinspection is inputted at step 52, such as by the inspector typing theidentifier into keyboard 24, or scanning a barcode with barcode reader26 or by pre-programming device 14 with a schedule of plannedinspections. The location of the selected equipment is then determined,such as by indexing associated locations saved in memory 22. The currentlocation of the portable data recording device 14 is then determined atstep 56 such as with location signal 34. That equipment location is thencompared to the actual location of the data recording device 14 at step58. If the actual location of device 14 does not correspond to thelocation of the selected equipment, the recordation of inspection datafor the selected equipment is precluded and step 56 may be repeated. Anerror message or travel direction information may be provided to theinspector at this point. If, however, the actual location of device 14does correspond to the location of the selected equipment, therecordation of inspection data for the selected equipment is enabled atstep 60. One may appreciate that other logic schemes may be usedaccomplish the result of enabling the recordation of data only when theinspector is physically located at the location of the equipment to beinspected.

The closeness of the match between the location of the inspection datarecording device 14 and the location of the selected equipment 12 thatis necessary to trigger the enablement of the recordation of inspectiondata may be programmed to any desired tolerance. This relationship maybe variously described herein as proximate locations or locations thatcorrespond, or being at a location, etc. While some location trackingsystems may have the ability to identify location to within a few metersor less, it may be practical in an embodiment of the present inventionto consider the data recording device 14 to be sufficiently close to theselected equipment location to enable data recording if the two locationcoordinates are within ten meters of each other or othersite-appropriate value. For example, this tolerance may be selected topermit the inspector to record data or to transmit data to the off-boarddatabase 46 while sitting in a vehicle parked near the equipment 12. Thesite-appropriate value may be selected and fixed in advance, or it maybe adjusted to accommodate a special situation upon communication fromthe operator to a centralized control location. This capability may beuseful, for example, when the asset being inspected is located in anatural setting, such as a playing apparatus in a park setting, and whenan abnormal situation, such as flooding due to unusual rainaccumulation, prohibits a normally close approach to the asset. Theoperator may communicate with a centralized control location, such ascentralized processor 46, to explain the situation, whereupon theproximity match necessary to enable the site-specific operation may beat least temporarily reprogrammed via remote communication via link 42.

In certain embodiments, such as when inspecting outdoor equipment, forexample some locations of traffic signals or telecommunication sites,the match between the designated site and the actual location of theportable electronic tool 10 may need to be measured in only twodimensions, such as latitude and longitude. In other embodiments, suchas when the designated site is within a building, for example utilitymeters in an apartment complex or patients in a health care facility orinventory in a warehouse, the location may need to be measured in threedimensions, such as latitude, longitude and altitude. Modern GPS andother positioning detection systems provide such capability. Theproximity between the portable tool and the designated site necessaryfor enabling the portable tool to be commanded by the operator toperform the site-specific operation may be specified as a desired valuein each of the dimensions, with the required proximity value notnecessarily being the same in each or any two of the dimensions. In oneembodiment, a first site-specific activity may be controlled by defininggenerally broad proximity limits in only the horizontal dimensions, suchas an activity associated with a building. A second group ofsite-specific activities within that building may then be controlledwith generally more narrow proximity limits, with vertical limits set torecognize the floor of the building and horizontal limits set todifferentiate locations of the site-specific activities on the floors.

The system 10 may enable the recordation of inspection data for theselected equipment 12 by providing an appropriate equipment-specificinspection recordation form(s) to the inspector via display 40 only whenthe current location indicates that the portable inspection datarecording device 14 is proximate the location correlated in memory 22with the inputted unique equipment identifier. A plurality ofequipment-specific data recordation forms may be stored in memory 22,and logic executable by the processor 20 may be responsive to theselected unique equipment identifier inputted by the inspector topresent the appropriate form. The format of the inspection datarecordation forms may be designed to simplify the effort for theinspector. Data may be input to the data recording device 14 manuallyvia keyboard 24, via a connected bar code reader 26, and/or viaconnection to other types of equipment at the location or brought to thelocation by the inspector such as through USB port 28, and via automaticdata population responsive to the position signal 34 and/or to theselected unique equipment identifier. Data that may be automaticallypopulated may include, among others, the location; the unique equipmentidentifier; the identity of the inspector; time data including, forexample, time of change of position of the recording device such as maybe useful for tracking the movement and activities of the inspector; anddata related to the selected asset such as serial numbers, performanceinformation, planned inspection points, warnings and instructions to theinspector, among others. Pull down menus and automatic comparison topermitted data values may be used to improve data integrity. FIG. 3illustrates an example data input display on the touch screen of aportable digital tool. Temporal information may be automaticallyrecorded. The system 10 may further permit the transmission ofinspection data for selected equipment from the portable inspection datarecording derive 14 to the centralized database 46 only when theposition detection device 32 indicates that the recording device 14 islocated at the location of the selected equipment.

The data processing system 10 may be utilized for other site-specificoperations. In one embodiment, system 10 is used in conjunction with acensus taking operation for the gathering of data regarding persons whoare associated with a designated location. Census takers are providedwith a list of residence addresses from which no written reply has beenreceived in response to a mailed request for information. The censustaker is directed to visit each residence and to conduct an interviewwith person(s) residing at that location. It is known that the integrityof such census activity is degraded as a result of erroneous data entryand as a result of dishonesty by census takers who complete a data formfor an address without ever visiting that residence. The incidence ofdishonest data input is expected to be reduced by enabling a portableelectronic tool such as portable data recording device 14 to becommanded by a census taker to perform a desired data handling operationassociated with the census only when the position detection device 32associated with the tool indicates that the tool is located proximate adesignated address. Such site-specific control may be exerted at any oneor more steps in the on-site process, such as during a data entry step,a data processing step, a data transmittal step, or a data receipt step.Furthermore, the incidence of erroneous data input is expected to bereduced by displaying an appropriate data recordation form via theportable tool for the entry of the census data related to person(s) atthe designated location only when the position detection device 32detects that the tool is located proximate the designated address. Thetool may also be used to improve productivity of the census taker bydisplaying on a display of the tool a map including the designatedlocation and a current geographic location of the tool as determined bythe position detection device 32, or by otherwise providing directionsto the census taker via the tool. Productivity of a census taker may beconveniently tracked by processing time data together with the recordeddata regarding the person residing at the address.

In the above discussion, it may be appreciated that a processor, such asprocessor 20 or a server of a base network, executing instructions of aprogram code product stored in a computer readable medium such as memory22, may perform the method steps discussed. It is understood that thevarious systems described herein may be realized in hardware, software,firmware or a combination thereof, and may be compartmentalized otherthan as shown. In one embodiment, a tool as described in United StatesPatent Application Publication US 2003/0061159 A1, incorporated in itsentirety by reference herein, may be programmed with appropriatesoftware code modules for carrying out the methods described herein. Thepresent invention may be embedded in program instructions which comprisefeatures enabling the implementation of the methods and functionsdescribed herein, and wherein when executed on a processor, thetechnical effect is to carry carrying out such methods and functions tocontrol a site-specific operation. The program code may be stored on acomputer usable/readable medium for access by a computerized storage andretrieval system. Computer program, software program, software codemodule, program, program product and software in the present contextmean any expression in any language, code or notation, of a set ofinstructions intended to cause a system having an information processingcapability to perform a particular function, either directly or afterconversion to another language, code or notation, and/or afterreproduction in a different material form. Various computer processingfunctions may be provided locally or via a network, such as for examplethe Internet.

While the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shownand described herein, it will be obvious that such embodiments areprovided by way of example only. Numerous variations, changes andsubstitutions will occur to those of skill in the art without departingfrom the invention herein.

1. A method of controlling the processing of site-specific data, themethod comprising: using a position detection device associated with aportable electronic tool to determine a current location of the portableelectronic tool; enabling the portable electronic tool to be commandedby an operator to process site-specific data when the position detectiondevice determines that a current location of the portable electronictool is proximate a designated site; and preventing the portableelectronic tool from being commanded by the operator to processsite-specific data when the position detection device determines thatthe current location of the portable electronic tool is remote from thedesignated site.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising enablingthe portable electronic tool to be commanded by the operator to transmitinformation to another location only when the position detection devicedetermines that the current location of the portable electronic tool isproximate the designated site.
 3. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising enabling the portable electronic tool to be commanded by theoperator to receive information transmitted from another location onlywhen the position detection device determines that the current locationof the portable electronic tool is proximate the designated site.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising enabling the portable electronictool to be commanded by the operator to process inspection data relatingto equipment located at the designated site only when the positiondetection device determines that the current location of the portableelectronic tool is proximate the designated site.
 5. The method of claim1, further comprising enabling the portable electronic tool to becommanded by the operator to display selected information relating tothe designated site only when the position detection device determinesthat the current location of the portable electronic tool is proximatethe designated site.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprisingenabling the portable electronic tool to be commanded by the operator todisplay a data recordation form only when the position detection devicedetermines that the current location of the portable electronic tool isproximate the designated site.
 7. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising enabling the portable electronic tool to be commanded by theoperator to populate data into a data recordation form only when theposition detection device determines that the current location of theportable electronic tool is proximate the designated site.
 8. A computerreadable medium for use on a portable computing device associated with alocation detector, with the medium including program instructionscomprising: a software code module controlling operation of the locationdetector for determining a current position of the computing devicerelative to a designated site; and a software code module enablingoperation of the computing device under the control of the operator toprocess site-specific data when the current position of the computingdevice is proximate the designated site and preventing operation of thecomputing device under the control of the operator to processsite-specific data when the current position of the computing device isremote from the designated site.
 9. The computer readable medium ofclaim 8, the program instructions further comprising a software codemodule enabling data storage on a memory device when the currentposition of the computing device is proximate the designated site. 10.The computer readable medium of claim 8, the program instructionsfurther comprising a software code module enabling operation of atransmitter for transmitting data from the computing device to a remotelocation when the current position of the computing device is proximatethe designated site.
 11. The computer readable medium of claim 8, theprogram instructions further comprising a software code module enablingoperation of a receiver for receiving data from a remote location whenthe current position of the computing device is proximate the designatedsite.
 12. The computer readable medium of claim 8, the programinstructions further comprising a software code module enabling thecomputing device to display information related to the designated sitewhen the current position of the computing device is proximate thedesignated site.
 13. The computer readable medium of claim 8, theprogram instructions further comprising a software code module enablingthe computing device to display a data recordation form related to thedesignated site when the current position of the computing device isproximate the designated site.
 14. The computer readable medium of claim8, wherein the software code module enabling operation of the computingdevice comprises required proximity values that are not the same in eachof three dimensions.
 15. A portable electronic tool comprising: alocation detection device; a data entry device; a display; a memory; aprocessor operatively connecting the location detection device, the dataentry device, the display and the memory; and program code executable bythe processor to enable entry of site-specific data into the memory viathe data entry device only when the location detection device determinesthat the portable electronic tool is within a predetermined distance ofa designated site.
 16. The portable electronic tool of claim 15, furthercomprising: a transmitter; and program code executable by the processorto enable transmission of data by the transmitter only when the locationdetection device determines that the portable electronic tool is withinthe predetermined distance of the designated site.
 17. The portableelectronic tool of claim 15, further comprising: a receiver; and programcode executable by the processor to enable the receipt of data by thereceiver only when the location detection device determines that theportable electronic tool is within the predetermined distance of thedesignated site.
 18. The portable electronic tool of claim 15, furthercomprising program code executable by the processor to enable the entryinto the memory of site-specific data associated with a specific assetassociated with a specific asset identifier only when the locationdetection device determines that the portable electronic tool is withina predetermined distance of a designated site associated in the memorywith the specific equipment.